Unscorched
by elitejace452
Summary: Responding to a fire leaves Firehouse 51's fire fighters lives on the line.
1. Five Alarm Fire

Disclaimer: I don't own Chicago Fire and all the characters belong to Dick Wolf.

A/N: I have fallen completely head over heels in love with Chicago Fire! I hope everyone enjoys!

* * *

Severide let out a sigh of sadness as he took in the scene that they were pulling up on. Even after all of his years on the job, it still made him sad to see a building being completely destroyed. Bright yellow flames danced out of every window on the third and fourth floors. The first and second floors had black smoke billowing out of them but were not touched by the flames yet. It would only be a matter of time before the flames engulfed the entire building. The building would be beyond saving once the fire was put out. These were the worst kind of fires to respond to, knowing that nothing would be left unscorched. Fire trucks were scattered across the street. Dozens of people were gathered on the street, several clutching belongs that they were able to grab as they had fled from the building or been evacuated. One elderly lady was holding tightly to a picture while a young lady was holding onto a handful of clothes as she sobbed.

"Wow." Herrmann said quietly as he tightened his oxygen tank strap. A significant portion of their job involved wrecks or rescues not involving fire, so when they responded to a five alarm fire, it was always sobering to see the destruction. As Squad 3, Ambulance 61, and Truck 81 came to a stop, the fire fighters and paramedics came pouring out and gathered so that they could receive instructions on what they needed to do to help. Boden sought out Chief Hurley, who had been the first to respond, to see where his guys were needed.

"We still have several dozen tenants unaccounted for." Chief Hurley's voice was full of desperation as he looked at the desolate scene. He knew that the chances of everyone getting out alive were growing slimmer by the millisecond. An ominous creaking made every firefighter's head snap towards the building. Boden nodded and turned around to get his team moving.

"There are dozens of tenants still unaccounted for and that building won't last much longer." Those were the only words that Boden needed to speak. Within seconds, Casey and Severide had split everyone up and they were running into the building. Gabby and Brett hurried over to the paramedics in charge of the scene to see who needed treatment first.

"Fire department, call out!" Herrmann shouted as he squinted to try to see through the thick smoke. Visibility was zero as Herrmann tried to move quickly and efficiently as possible. Their job was to recover as many people as they could before it was too unsafe. There was no telling when the building might collapse and he never wanted to witness that from the inside.

"Fire department, call out!" Otis tried to raise his voice as loudly as possible to be heard over the roar of the fire. It was like someone had pulled a black cloth over his mask. It was impossible to see more than an inch in front of his face. He was always scared that he was going to kick or step on someone while trying to rescue them.

"Help!" A faint voice broke through the crackling of wood as it burned. Otis whipped his head around, trying to place where the voice came from. "Help!" They called out again for help, quieter this time. Otis knew that meant they didn't have much time if they were going to save them.

"Herrmann, I heard someone over here!" Otis called out so that Herrmann could help him track down this person. He strained his eyes as a shady figure broke through the thick smoke. He could tell they were doubled over and the sounds of hacking coughs followed a second later.

"Fire department, call out!" Herrmann appeared closer to Otis to see if he could hear or see the person that Otis said was over here. He didn't hear anything but that didn't mean that the person had not just lost consciousness. Smoke inhalation killed many people so the clock was ticking to get them out in time to save them.

"Help me!" The woman choked out as she reached her arms out for Otis. Otis grabbed them and held her up as Herrmann made her way towards them. Herrmann and Otis carefully picked her up and made their way for the door, lurching towards the right as a chunk of roof came crumbling down on their left. They put her on the nearest stretcher as she tried to thank them between coughs as the paramedics started to assess her. Mouch and Stella came out of the door carrying an unconscious man. They deposited the man on a stretcher. All four of them exchanged a quick glance before running back into the building, knowing that time was running out.

* * *

"Call out!" Severide yelled as he slammed his shoulder through the door of an apartment. He focused on the smoke patterns, trying to make sure he didn't leave anyone behind. He thought he might see the faint outline of a person towards the middle of the room and he moved towards them. He didn't even get a chance to throw his arms up when the roof caved in on top of him.

"Kelly!" Cruz screamed. It was like the scene played out in front of him in slow motion. He watched in horror as Severide disappeared underneath a huge pile of rubble. His PASS alarm started beeping. The only thing Cruz could see was one of Severide's boots. "Severide's down!" Cruz frantically alerted into his radio as he started grabbing some of the debris down by Severide's leg to uncover him. "Severide?" Cruz shook Severide's leg but his leg remained limp and there was no response from the downed firefighter.

"We're coming!" Casey felt his heart rise into his throat. The absolute worst thing that they ever heard was that a firefighter was down. "Chief, can we get some backup to finish clearing this section?" As much as he wanted to sprint to Severide and help his friend, he had to remain rational and make sure that he did his job.

"On their way!" Boden responded almost instantly as he paced outside of the fire. Another chief overheard the distress call and signaled for two of his firefighters who headed to cover Casey and Stella. Boden gave him a nod of thanks. Once the two firefighters had arrived, Casey and Stella started making their way to where Severide and Cruz were. They were halfway towards Severide when Casey grunted. It felt like someone had taken a two by four to his ribcage and his knees buckled before he hit the ground.

"Casey?" Stella whipped around when she realized her lieutenant was no longer by her side. "Casey?" Her voice rose in panic as she realized Casey was prone on the ground underneath a huge beam as his PASS alarm activated. She knelt down next to him and tried to get a look at his face. His eyes were closed and he didn't respond to her patting him on the chest. "Shit! Casey's down!" Stella yelled into the radio. She was horrified as she realized that the beam had fallen only about two inches from where she had been standing. If she had been one step behind, she would have been taken down by the same beam.

"We'll get you help." Boden swore under his breath as he looked around. The other trucks that had responded were bringing out more and more people from the fire. This was quickly turning into a disaster scene with the paramedics that were first on scene directing the ever growing triage. "I'm coming." He decided on a split second as he sprinted into the building to get his people out safely.

* * *

"Stella?" Casey groaned as he jerked awake. His chest was on fire and there was a huge weight on top of his chest. He tried to push whatever was compressing his chest off but it didn't budge. It was making his breathing really difficult. His whole body was throbbing and aching. He remembered running towards Severide and then he was on the ground. The black smoke had concealed the hidden danger and Casey had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. His breaths came in painful gasps as he tried to get more air into his lungs. It felt like he was drowning without water.

"Don't move! There's a beam on your chest. Help is on the way." Stella tried to soothe Casey as she stayed by his side. She had tried desperately to yank the beam off of Casey but it was too heavy for her to move by herself. She looked around, hoping that someone was here to help but no one had arrived.

"My chest hurts." Casey forced out between pants as the pain continued to grow. He let out a cry of pain as he gave the beam one more shove and the pain exploded in his chest. He let his hands fall down by his side and he grasped at the ground to try to breathe through the pain. It felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to his ribcage. He coughed and something wet splattered against his mask. He didn't even have to look to know that it was blood.

"Help's coming." Stella repeated. She felt helpless as she sat near Casey's head and listened to him fight for air. She had assessed him as best as she could in the thick, cloudy air and it looked like his lower body was okay. The beam covered from the top of his abdomen to his shoulders. She was worried about all of his internal organs and from the way he was breathing, she knew that something was seriously wrong. All of her paramedic training was screaming at her that he needed to get out of her as soon as possible. She saw that his eyes were starting to close and she patted his shoulder again, eliciting a pained yelp. "You gotta stay with me!" She barked. He coughed again and more blood exploded from his mouth. He just wanted to close his eyes for a few minutes. If he closed his eyes and rested, maybe he could get enough strength to get this beam off of him. "You're going to be okay." Stella didn't know what else to say but she needed Casey to keep his eyes open. His eyes fluttered shut. "Eyes open Casey!" Casey's eyes snapped open at Stella's command but his head lolled to the side as he fought against the pain. "Stay awake!" Stella kept trying to keep Casey's eyes open but he started to cough again as bloody drool ran the corners of his mouth. As the coughing fit faded, his head lolled to this side as his eyes rolled up and he passed out.


	2. Time is of the Essence

A/N: Thanks for the reviews and follows! Here's the next chapter.

* * *

"Stella!" Boden boomed out as he pushed his ears to listen for Casey's PASS alarm. The roar from the fire was growing louder and made it extremely difficult to pick up anything, even the high pitched alarm. He walked a few more feet forward and suddenly he could hear the alarm. It was like the most beautiful sounding music to ears as he arrived at Casey's side. He took in the size of the beam and the blood that coated the front of Casey's mask and knew that this was serious.

"We need to get him out. There's no telling how much internal bleeding he has." Stella spoke urgently as she got up from Casey's side to see if they could move the beam between the two of them.

"Hang on Casey." Boden spoke to the limp figure as he got in position across from Stella. They both let out a grunt of exertion as they gave it their all to try to lift the heavy beam off of Casey. It creaked as they pulled up but didn't rise up high enough for them to be able to get the weight off of the fallen lieutenant and he let out a pitiful sounding whimper in his unconscious state when the weight of the beam shifted.

"Damn it!" Stella resisted hitting the beam. She felt so weak and helpless right now.

"We need more help here! First floor, middle of the building!" Boden said into the radio. He didn't even listen for the response as he sat down next to Casey. He turned Casey's heard towards him. "You hang on!"

"His pulse is getting weaker!" Stella cried out as she pushed two fingers against his throat. She had to push hard to even feel the tiny, racing flutter under her fingers. His skin was slick with sweat and dirt but was ice cold to the touch. "We need to get him out of here."

"Casey, you don't get to do this!" Gabby said with a fierce tone as she listened to her worst nightmare playing out over the radio. She was fighting the urge to grab a mask from someone and run into the building to her husband. She wanted nothing more than to be with him. "You hang on. I love you." Tears started to pour from her eyes as she blinked hard so she could keep treating the person in front of her.

"Gabby?" The word came out slurred as Casey's head flopped from one side to the other to find her, sighing in disappointment when he realized she wasn't by his side. He knew his body was shutting down. It felt like someone was clawing out his insides with a dozen knives. He moaned with pain as his eyes closed again. There was so much pain. Stella felt herself start to cry as she frantically tugged on the beam again.

"I'm right here baby." Gabby finished wrapping the head wound on the patient she was treated and stood up, turning to face the building. Her hands were shaking so badly that it wouldn't be safe for her to move onto another patient at the moment.

"Love you." Casey's words came out gurgled, barely audible of the hectic scene. A sob tore from Gabby's throat as she collapsed to her knees. She could hear the harsh, uneven pants as Casey fought to get the air into his throat. He coughed wetly, gagging on the blood as it forced its way out of his mouth. Gabby felt vomit rising in her throat when she heard the additional firefighters going to help Casey asking for more directions because they couldn't locate them. They were wasting precious time that Casey didn't have to spare.

"I love you too. You just hold on." Gabby pressed both of her hands against her chest. It felt like someone had ripped her heart straight out of her body. She couldn't lose Casey. She just couldn't. He was going to hold on and they were going to save him.

"Hurts." Gabby wasn't even sure if she actually heard Casey's words. His ragged, gurgling breathing was getting slower with each passing minute. Every little whimper and moan that came from Casey ripped at her more and more. She couldn't even imagine the insurmountable pain that he must be in.

"You gotta keep holding on. Help will be right there!" Gabby said firmly as more tears ran down her cheeks. She had to keep believing that reinforcements would be there and they'd have him out from under that beam in a few seconds so he could be carried out to a waiting ambulance.

"Love you." Casey wheezed out again. He could physically feel his heartbeat slowing and the God awful pain was starting to ebb away. He was dying. Help wasn't going to make it to him in time. He wanted to make sure that Gabby understood that he loved her so much. She was his true soul mate and he had thought he would have a lifetime to show that to her but these next few minutes would just have to be enough.

"I love you more." Gabby replied back immediately. "You're going to be fine." Gabby knew she was lying. He needed medical attention right now if he even had a fighting chance. Casey grasped at Boden's shoulder weakly as the pain surged, desperate to cling to something real to keep him here. Boden grabbed his hand and held it tightly, trying to give him some strength as Casey's eyes rolled back and he started to seize. Foamy blood emerging from his mouth as his arms and legs flopped against the ground. He groaned in agony as he slipped into the darkness.

* * *

Severide could only feel pain as he squeezed his closed eyes together to try to get his bearings. He remembered a fire, running into the building, and then there was nothing. Was he dead? He tried to shift his weight but it sent pain shooting through his body. He braved cracking open one eye as he looked around, realizing that he was buried. He tried to take inventory of his body but every inch of it was hurting. Where was he? Was anyone there?

"Severide! Can you hear us?" Herrmann's muffled voice broke through his thoughts. "We're digging you out, buddy. Just be okay!" Severide felt himself drifting back off, feeling a little bit of relief that he hadn't been left behind to die. Herrmann, Otis, Cruz, and Mouch were all throwing the pieces of concrete, roofing and debris off of the squad lieutenant as fast as their arms would move. They had no idea what shape Severide was in underneath the rubble.

"We're here to help!" Three firefighters emerged out of the doorway and threw themselves into helping get Severide uncovered. They all knew that time was of the essence if they wanted to save him. They could still hear the building creaking and the crackle of the fire in the distance growing louder.

"Herrmann, help me with this piece!" Otis shouted to Herrmann as he sized up the piece of concrete. He knew that he would need a second set of hands to get this moved off of Severide. Herrmann nodded as he took a step towards Otis before being knocked flat onto his back as another piece of concrete shifted and landed on top of Herrmann's leg. Herrmann let out a roar of pain as the crack of bone resounded through the room. Cruz and Otis were beside Herrmann in a second, lifting the concrete off of him as Herrmann cried out again.

"I think my leg's broken!" Herrmann clutched his knee with both of his hands. His foot was facing the wrong way inside of his boot and blood was soaking through the leg of his pants already. Pain pulsed through his leg. He cursed under his breath. He was mad with himself that he was taking time away from Severide.

"Ya think buddy?" Otis said sarcastically as he looked at Herrmann's leg. "Herrmann's leg is broken! We need some extra hands in here!" He felt like he was a broken record as he clamped a hand on Herrmann's shoulder to try to comfort him. Herrmann tried to take steadying breaths.

"We got ya!" Two firefighters appeared a few minutes later and gathered Herrmann in their arms, carrying him out of the building towards the waiting paramedics. Brett rushed over, cutting Herrmann's pants leg and taking in the mess underneath with a gasp. His fibula and tibia were both obviously broken, bone sticking out in two separate places.

"Just set it and I'll get on the next ambulance to the hospital. I'll be fine." Herrmann tried to give Brett a reassuring smile but it came out more of a pained grimace. He knew that he was going to need surgery to fix his leg. Brett got to work, trying to be as careful as she could. She could see from how tightly Herrmann was holding onto the edges of the stretcher that he was in a lot of pain. After a few minutes, she flagged down a paramedic who could transport Herrmann to Chicago Med and they wheeled him towards their rig.

"We'll see you soon." Brett gave Herrmann a quick hug before he was slid into the waiting ambulance and it tore off with sirens wailing.

* * *

"I think I see his helmet!" Cruz yelled victoriously as he moved a smaller piece of concrete and the dust covered helmet became visible. Otis rushed over and they uncovered more of Severide's head. Blood was gushing out of his nose and his face was a pearly shade of white. Otis held two shaking fingers up to Severide's neck, terrified of what he might not feel before letting out a cry of relief. There was a pulse.

"Hey Severide, can you hear us?" Otis asked as he gently slapped Severide's face. Cruz gingerly moved another piece of concrete that was sitting on top of Severide's neck away. He winced as he took in the scrapes and cuts underneath. Some of them were deep and would require stitches. He could only imagine what the rest of his body looked like.

"Severide!" Cruz's voice was starting to rise with panic when Severide's face remained relaxed and he didn't respond. "Kelly!" He knew that Casey was in bad shape and they couldn't lose both of their lieutenants. He let out a cry of frustration and slapped Severide's face a little bit harder, trying to get Severide to open his eyes.

"Cruz?" Severide furrowed his brow in confusion as he tried pieced what had happened back together.

"Yes lieutenant! Oh thank God!" Cruz lifted his eyes towards the sky and mouthed 'thank you' to the skies before looking back down at Severide. Severide sighed as he blinked a few times. He definitely had a concussion from the way it felt like jackhammers were hammering at the backs of his eyes. As he tried to take inventory of his body again, a chill ran down his spine as he realized something was horrifically wrong.

"I can't feel my legs."


	3. Under His Skin

A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews and follows! Has anyone seen the preview for next week? I know I'll be crying!

* * *

"You're going to be okay Severide. You hit your head pretty hard. We're going to get you to the hospital." Cruz responded instantly to try to comfort Severide as he swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. He looked up at Otis with fear in his eyes. He had no idea if that was the right answer but he had to believe that. Severide couldn't be paralyzed. There had to be some swelling in his spine or a bad concussion or just the shock and pain that was causing the lack of sensation. "You're going to be fine." Severide gave the tiniest nod that he had understood Cruz's words. He moaned as the pain washed over him. It felt like every one of his ribs had been pulverized and all of his bones had been broken. He had never felt a pain like this before. It overrode every thought in his brain. Every beat of his heart sent waves of excruciating pain through his body.

"We need c-spine stabilization equipment in here." Otis could only look back at Cruz with eyes that were overflowing with fear. "Move carefully but quickly guys." He spoke to everyone. They all gave a nod that they understood. Severide's eyes fluttered shut again as his hands that had been balled into fists relaxed and he fell unconscious again, unable to fight against the overwhelming pain.

"We're getting you out of here." Cruz said in the most soothing voice he could muster. Even though he had no clue if Severide could hear him, he wanted to keep Severide informed on what was happening around him. Cruz realized that there was really only one larger piece left of the pile that had obscured Severide from view before. "Let's get this piece moved, slowly and carefully." Everyone moved into position and Cruz counted to three. The large piece was moved and everyone gasped in horror at what they could see underneath.

"Oh my God." Otis couldn't even begin to fathom the amount of pain that Severide must be in. Both of his legs were bent in unnatural positions with blood pooling underneath each leg. The way that Severide had fallen, he had been sandwiched between two very unforgiving, giant pieces of concrete that had done the maximum amount of damage to his lower body. His legs looked almost deflated.

"Let's get him out of here. I don't like the sounds the ceiling is making." Cruz gave the ceiling a quick glance. They all could hear the creaking coming from above and knew that meant that the fire was spreading rapidly. They didn't want to be here when the rest of the ceiling came collapsing down. He placed the collar around Severide's neck and they moved cautiously to get Severide placed on the backboard. Otis winced as he placed stabilization around both of Severide's mangled legs, forcing them back into semi-normal positions. Even unconscious, Severide groaned in pain at the movements. "Let's go!" Cruz shouted and they all grabbed onto the backboard, rushing Severide out to get him to help.

* * *

"We're here!" Three firefighters from Truck 142 yelled as they emerged from the black smoke, finally setting eyes on Boden, Stella, and Casey. Casey was still in the throes of the seizure, his teeth clenched tight as whimpers of agony escaped from his lips as his limps flopped around. Stella had placed her jacket underneath Casey's head to try to protect his head as it banged against the floor.

"Let's get this off of him!" Boden rose to his feet. The three firefighters and Boden were able to lift up the beam just high enough that Stella was able to yank Casey out from underneath the heavy beam. They let the beam crash back down to the ground with a resounding crash and hurried over to help Casey.

"What can we do?" The firefighters asked as they gathered around Casey. Stella let out a cry of relief when Casey came out of the seizure as quickly as he had gone into it. His whole body went limp. Stella pressed her fingers into his neck and felt like ice had been injected straight into her spine when she couldn't feel anything, not even a tiny flutter. She dug her fingers in deeper but there was nothing.

"He doesn't have a pulse!" Stella's voice teetered on hysterical as she started compressions. "Casey, no! You can't do this!" She pushed harder, forcing his heart to push the blood through his body. She wasn't going to let him die today. She could hear Gabby over the radio but with there was this roar in her ears that tuned out every noise. Two of the firefighters stepped in to try to get Casey onto the backboard but she shoved them out of the way to keep preforming CPR on Casey.

"We gotta get him out!" Boden shouted as he wrapped his arms around Stella and pulled her away from Casey. They got Casey secured on the backboard and started to feel their way out of the dense smoke. Within minutes, they could see the faint glow of the door through the haze and sprinted towards it.

"Matt? Matt!" Gabby was beside the backboard the instant they were out of the building, grabbing a corner as they sprinted over towards the triage area. She had one hand against Casey's cold and clammy face. Brett was by her side as they carefully lowered him onto the waiting stretcher. Brett grabbed scissors and sliced open Matt's shirt so they could get a good look at his chest. Gabby let out a sob as she looked at the mangled chest of her husband. It looked like the worst of the damage was to his ribs and upper abdomen. She placed the pads on his chest. Her knees went knobby and it felt like someone had wrapped their hand around her windpipe to prevent any air flow when all they could see was a flat line and the voice said in a monotone, 'no shock advised'. "No! No! No!" She screeched as she resumed CPR with tears flying from her eyes.

"I'm starting an IV." Brett had tears falling from her eyes as she started searching Casey's arms for a spot to get a line in. She swore under her breath when the first IV line blew almost immediately. She found a second spot and sighed in relief when she was able to flush it.

"Try again!" Gabby could barely see through the flow of tears.

"Shock advised!" Brett's voice was full of relief. "Clear!" She shouted and everyone threw their hands up and a shock was delivered, Casey's back arching off the stretcher. Gabby sobbed harder when the line went flat again marking no change. She snatched the intubation kit off the ambulance and pulled Casey's head back towards her so she could see to his vocal cords. She blinked to make sure her vision was clear and pushed the tube in. She let out a tiny whimper when she realized that it hadn't taken any drugs to relax him so she could intubate him. Casey couldn't die. He just couldn't. She loved him too much. She needed him. "Shock advised again! Clear!" Brett waited for a second before pressing the button to administer the charge. She let out all of the air she had been holding in her lungs when a squiggly line appeared.

"Oh thank you, thank you God!" Gabby knew that adrenaline was pumping through her veins or she would have collapsed out of sheer joy. "We need to get him to Chicago Med." Gabby's voice was rough, full of emotion as she continued to pump air into his lungs. She had to tear her eyes off of Casey's face to make sure that everyone had heard her. She knew that Matt condition could change at any second and every minute could make a difference in his recovery. _He was going to make it._ Gabby kept repeating that message in her head, forcing herself to believe it even with the horrific injuries she could only imagine were hidden under Matt's skin.

"I'll drive." Stella volunteered and without waiting for an answer, she headed for the front of the ambulance. She knew that both Brett and Gabby were going to need to be in the back of the ambulance to make sure that the Lieutenant made it to Chicago Med in the best shape possible. They loaded Casey into the ambulance and were screeching off for the hospital.

* * *

"Kelly? Can you open your eyes?" McKenna, a paramedic, asked as she carefully tapped Severide's cheek. They had placed tourniquets around each of his legs to prevent Crush Syndrome. His oxygen saturation was riding dangerously low and she placed a nasal cannula under his nose.

"Lieutenant!" Cruz squeezed Severide's hand, hoping that it would elicit some witty response about how they were holding hands but Severide's face remained slack. The other paramedic, Chris, had started an IV while placing electrodes on his chest to check his heart rate. Chris carefully drew up a dose of morphine and inserted it into the IV.

"Ouch." Kelly's voice was a gruff whisper as he blinked and cracked his eyes. He felt like he had been run over by a truck and backed back over before being thrown off a three-story roof. His whole body was on fire. He had never imagined that this level of pain existed.

"Lietuenant!" Cruz could have screamed with joy. "You scared us!"

"Hi Kelly, I'm McKenna and Chris is down by your arm. We're going to get you to the hospital." McKenna tried to put Kelly at ease as he blinked blankly at them, his mind only comprehending half of what the woman was saying. Every nerve in his body felt like it was being stomped on.

"I'm coming with you." Cruz climbed into the ambulance beside of Severide, keeping a hold on his hand. They sped off towards Chicago Med. They pulled up along the ambulance that had Casey inside and unloaded Severide who had drifted in and out of consciousness the entire ride to the hospital. The morphine had kicked in but he was still in a tremendous amount of pain.

"You're going to Baghdad!" Maggie pointed and they nodded as they got him into the room and transferred off of their gurney. "Dr. Choi!" Dr. Choi came running into the room a moment later as he shoved his hands into gloves. "Joe, you need to step out." Maggie nicely but forcefully reminded Cruz when he lingered behind in the room.

"We need a CBC, BMP, amylase, CMP, and electrolytes!" Dr. Choi rattled off as they finished cutting off the rest of Severide's clothes. "We need to get some x-rays and get him into the CT scanner ASAP!" He took in Severide's mangled legs. He could see the white of bone poking through in several places. One of his pupils was blown and Dr. Choi was desperate to see what was going on. "You're going to be okay Severide. We're going to help you." Dr. Choi gave Severide a reassuring smile as he threw on the lead lined apron to protect himself from the radiation from the x-ray machine. They had the x-rays pulled up in a few minutes. Severide's pelvis was broken along with his left clavicle, five ribs, and both of his femurs, his left and right fibula, left tibia, and many of the small bones in his feet. Severide was going to be in for an extremely rough recovery and the CT would reveal the internal injuries, but Dr. Choi wasn't going to let him die. "We're going to take care of you."

* * *

A/N: No cliffhanger! :D Also, disclaimer, I'm not a doctor, so I'm researching and trying my best to be as medically accurate as I can!


	4. Deep Breaths

Somehow it's been 2 years since I've updated any of my stories, not quite sure how that happened, where did that time go? But I wanted to get back to writing. I think it's a great outlet for me and I have missed it.

I did make up a doctor as I can't remember any doctor on Chicago Med that specializes in orthopedic surgery.

* * *

"I can't find where the bleeding is!" Dr. Rhodes half growled in frustration as he grabbed blood-soaked lap pads out of the incision that stretched over Casey's entire abdomen. He had already stitched up several ruptures to the small intestine and one in the stomach. Both of Casey's lungs had chest tubes in them to keep them from deflating as they began the long healing process. Dr. Rhodes threw the pads down beside him. "I need more lap pads!" He reached out and they were almost instantly in his hands by the attentive operating staff. He felt that he had gone through every centimeter of the organs in Casey's abdomen but there was still blood oozing from somewhere. "Damn it!" He yelled as blood continued to obstruct his view so that he could finish saving Casey's life.

* * *

"We've taken Severide back for the first of several surgeries." Dr. Patel, head of orthopedic surgery, updated the sea of worried Chicago firefighters and paramedics. "We're going to stabilize his pelvis and his legs. I'm not going to lie to you. He is in really bad shape. His legs are crushed but I am going to do everything that I can. He's going to need you. This isn't going to be an easy recovery." Dr. Patel wasn't sure what words would prepare them for the fact that Severide might never be able to return to duty. He had no idea what to tell Severide, but he was going to pour all of his energy and heart break into fixing Severide. He walked back towards the operating room to scrub. As he scrubbed, he looked into the room at Severide, already under anesthesia and prepped for surgery. The entirety of Severide's body was covered in bruising and his feet were swollen to the point they barely resembled feet. He took a deep breath to steady himself as he walked into the operating room with his hands held up above his waist. This was going to be one of the most challenging surgeries of his career. He knew that everything that mattered to Severide depended on his ability to get him back into one piece.

"How is Christopher?" A tearful Cindy came running into the emergency room to the closest familiar face she could find. She had gotten the most gut-wrenching phone call that Hermann was hurt on the job and she had barely remembered to put on shoes before running out the front door to her car. It's the phone that she dreaded every single time that Christopher headed out the door to go to work. She never knew if he was going to walk back through the door and today could have been the last time he had walked out of the front door of their home.

"He's in surgery to fix his leg. He has a compound fracture so they're going to put some rods in his leg. He'll be laid up for a little bit but he's going to be fine. He's going to be okay." Chief Boden pulled her in a hug, trying to provide some comfort. His cheeks were caked with soot and debris as were all of the firefighters crammed into the waiting area.

"Oh Christopher." Cindy let out a sob as she turned into Boden's hug, her face pressed against his chest. The smell of smoke clung to him like it did to Christopher when he walked in the door after a shift and that gave her a small bit of comfort. She had been in this waiting room so many times, not just for Christopher but for the others in his firehouse. She cared about every one of these men because they were a part of her family. "Kelly? Matt?" She asked after she took a second to pull herself together.

"They're both in surgery. They're in bad shape." Boden didn't want to lie to her because he truthfully wasn't sure what the future was going to bring. "They're going to have a long road ahead of them."

"I'll pray for them." Cindy nodded her head as more tears rolled down her face. She hated this gut wrenching feeling that there was absolutely nothing that she could do. Stella was staring at her blood-soaked hands. Gabby was curled up sobbing with Brett holding her. Otis and Randy were almost identical with their arms crossed and horrified looks on their faces as they looked off at something that wasn't there. Capp and Tony were on the phone talking quietly, updating families or friends Cindy could tell by their tone of their voices.

"They'll appreciate that." Boden patted her on the back as he led her to an open chair. Firehouse 51 would all sit vigil until they knew that all three were out of the woods.

* * *

It felt like someone was taking an axe to his leg repeatedly while his head was being held in a tight vice grip as he forced his eyelids open. The first thing he saw was a giant white blob being elevated where his leg should be. What was wrong with his leg? Where was he? He couldn't seem to remember what he had been doing before his eyes had closed but he could tell that he wasn't in his bed at home or at the firehouse.

"Christopher?" A familiar voice broke through his confusion and he turned his head to see his beautiful wife staring at him with tears in her eyes.

"Hi." Hermann's voice was muffled because of the oxygen mask he was wearing. He moved his hand up to try to touch Cindy's face. She brought his hand to her face and then grasped it between both of hers, giving him a half smile. He blinked again to clear the fog from his eyes. "What happened?"

"Your leg was a bad break baby." Cindy turned her eyes to look at his leg. "You've got more hardware in your leg than you do in the garage." She gave a weak laugh at her attempt at a joke. "You're going to be laid up for a while." She gripped his hand tighter. She was certain that her hair had a few hundred more gray hairs than she had had before the phone call came in.

"Work?" It was the only word that Hermann managed to get out, but he knew that Cindy would understand what he meant. She knew that no matter what, Christopher was not going to give up his life as a firefighter. It was something in his heart or in his blood, she wasn't sure what, but she knew that it meant the world to him.

"Yes. You'll get back to work but you'll need therapy." Cindy wanted to be angry that he asked about the job that had put him in the hospital but in her heart, she knew that he was meant to be a firefighter. "The doctor told me it'll be a good eight to ten months or a year before you're completely healed, so you'll have to be patient." She knew that was going to be a lifetime to her husband and he'd be driving her crazy at the house with some silly project before it was all said and done.

"Severide!" Hermann yelled as his eyes got big and the memory of where he was and what he was doing when his leg was broken. He tried to sit up so he could get out of bed while Cindy tried to push him back down. He struggled against her hands so that he could get out of bed.

"He's in surgery. He's in surgery!" Cindy tried to soothe Hermann as she tried to get him to lay back down. Christopher had also just come through a major surgery and she didn't want him to hurt himself further. "Lay back!" She said firmly with a look in her eye that made Hermann stop squirming.

"He's in surgery? He's still alive? He's alive?" Hermann let out a sigh as he leaned back into the pillows and let out a moan. His brief struggle to sit up had sent pain searing from the tips of his toes through the top of his leg. He wasn't sure yet how much work had been done but he knew that it was going to be a lengthy recovery.

"Yes. He's alive. He's going to need a lot of work and help but he's still alive." Cindy didn't have a lot of details as the doctors had been working on Severide for almost nine hours now. "I'll tell you more when I know more." Hermann nodded as his eyes started closing again. "Rest baby." She leaned in and kissed him as his eyes fluttered the rest of the way shut and he drifted back off.

* * *

"It feels like it's been forever." Cruz said as he looked down at his phone for the time. It had been over nine hours since Severide and Casey were taken back for surgery and with every passing minute, he was growing more and more worried that no news meant there was only bad news to hear.

"They're focusing on Severide and Casey. They'll come tell us when they can." Boden tried to calm Cruz His heart was also sinking and he felt the same panic and despair, but he needed to be stronger for his men. He had spent way too much time in these waiting rooms.

"I've got an update on Severide." Dr. Patel through the door after what felt like another eternity of waiting. "Severide's out of surgery and settled in the ICU. He'll be there for the next few weeks while he starts his recovery. He is still intubated. His left lung collapsed at the end of the surgery. We inserted a chest tube to help the blood drain. His pelvis and legs are stabilized with rods and screws. He's not out of the woods but he's stable for now. He is heavily sedated so don't expect him to wake up for a while, but his brain function was intact after the CT scan they did in the Emergency Room. Dr. Patel, our top neurologist will be monitoring his head, neck, and spine. She will be able to update you guys shortly." Dr. Patel tried to get out as much information as he could since he knew they were anxious for an update.

"When can we see him?" Cruz managed to spit out. He was completely shocked. He was grateful that Severide was alive. His heart was heavy thinking about the long road that Severide faced. He couldn't wait to have his Lieutenant back leading Squad 3. There wasn't anyone in the world that could fill his shoes.

"I would like to keep the visitors to a minimum, so no more than one person in the room at a time. I also ask that you keep it quiet and calm. Right now, the best thing you can do for him is let him rest. I would also recommend not mentioning anything about his future as a firefighter as I think it would be better to let him get more stable first." Dr. Patel knew that asking them to not come in was futile but he knew that his patient needed as much rest as possible to heal. "Any questions for me?" He paused after asking, looking at the sea of concerned faces. "I will be in the hospital for the rest of my shift and even if I am not in the hospital, I will remain on call until Mr. Severide leaves the hospital." He nodded at everyone and walked away.

"Who goes first?" Cruz broke the silence first. He was chomping at the bit to get to see Severide but he knew that there were others who outranked him and had known Severide longer who should get to go first.

"You go." Boden said quietly with a commanding jerk of his head in the direction of Severide's room.

"Thanks boss!" Cruz almost squeaked as he walked quickly out of the room, trying not to run. He walked down the hall. "Oh Severide." Cruz felt his heart drop even further once he laid eyes on someone he considered to be a flesh and blood brother. He quietly moved the chair over to be next to Severide and laid his hand on top of Severide's forearm. It was relatively unbruised, and the other arm had his IV, so he felt this was the best way to provide some comfort. "We got you brother. We're all here and we aren't leaving you." That's all Cruz could choke out before the tears started falling. He sat with Severide until Boden came in the room to take a turn. They would not let Severide be alone until he was back to Firehouse 51. Cruz turned in the doorway to look at Severide and hoped beyond hope that everything was going to be okay.


End file.
